GS Colonel Silvertop 07i the Lacustrine Basins of 



many of ihem dip in an opposite direction, the latter being the 

 case on the Granada side of the hill, the former in the subse- 

 quent descent towards La Mala; but in a hill at a short distance 

 from the road, and only separated from that it crosses by a deep 

 ravine, a series of these strata was observed in a nearly horizon- 

 tal position, jutting out beyond the earthy marl that separates 

 them. In the bed of the Httle stream which passes by La Mala, 

 there is a brine spring, the water of which, by means of a 

 Noria or Moorish pump, is elevated into a series of reservoirs 

 or quadrangular basins, where it is evaporated by the heat of 

 the sun during the summer months, and the salt sold by the 

 government to the neighbouring villages *. 



Beyond La Mala, there is a gentle ascent where gypsum is seen 

 in considerable abundance, the road passing over a series of its 

 inclined laminated strata from one to three inches thick, and in 

 structure and colour identical with that which was before ob- 

 served. 



Hence to a public-house, called La Venta de Huelma, four 

 leagues from Granada (about 16 miles), there is an undulating 

 cultivated tract of a light marly nature, where gypsum rarely 

 comes to day, but close to the Venta some insulated masses of it 

 are observed ; and near a village called Escuzar, about three 

 miles distant in an easterly direction, this mineral, of a beautiful 

 whiteness, is met with in abundance, quarried and worked into 

 various ornaments connected with the religious ceremonies of 

 Spain. From this house onwards towards Alhama, the country 

 becomes more hilly, and the road, after passing over a bed of 

 stratified gypsum in the first ascent beyond the Venta, traverses 

 a higher undulating tract, a sort of southern heath, covered with 

 wild thyme, esparto -I*, and evergreen shrubs. At the commence- 

 ment of this tract, a few insulated strata of a calcareous nature 



• About six hundred thousand pounds of salt are annually made here. 

 This article is a monopoly of the government, and each householder in the 

 villages is obliged to receive every year the quantity of it portioned out to 

 them by the justicia or magistracy ac the government price, which is exor- 

 bitant. 



-f- The Esparto is a grass of the rush tribe, whose botanical name is, I be- 

 lieve, Stipa tenacissima. It is a^ great object of industry in the south of 

 Spain, from which all sorts of ropes and cordage, as well as mats of various 

 qualities and beauty, are made. 



